Mt.Cranmore Hill Run 07-8-2006

Hunt, Heinrich Win at Cranmore Hill Climb

NORTH CONWAY, NH - Wearing his bright orange Inov-8 Trail Team singlet, David Hunt of Fryeburg made a lot of people proud at the 19th Annual Cranmore Hill Climb, including his parents who were race volunteers and one of the race's primary sponsors, Inov-8 trail running shoes.

David, a member of the White Mountain Milers, won the Hill Climb in a time of 48:15, almost two minutes ahead of the second place finisher. In last year's Cranmore race, David was the top Junior (age 19 and under) runner. The closest battle of the day came for second place with Miler Tim Livingston of Conway edging out Central Mass Striders and former US Mountain Team members Dan Verrington and Dave Dunham (both of Bradford, MA) on the last tenth of a mile to finish second in a time of 50:07. Verrington (50:11) took top Masters with Dunham (50:23) in a close second (fourth overall). In fifth place was fellow Central Mass Strider Patrick Rich of South Hamilton, MA in a time of 53:39. Patrick, who is an extremely fast 32 minute 10K road racer, chose one of the tougher USATF-New England Mountain Circuit races as his first foray into mountain running.

On the women's side, Dawn Heinrich of Wolfeboro extended her streak of being top Masters finisher at Cranmore to three years, this year adding an overall win to her list of Cranmore honors in a time of 1:05:05. Heinrich is also the top women's points leader in this year's USATF New England Mountain Running Circuit, which concludes next week at Ascutney Mountain in Vermont (www.mountainrunningteam.com). Not to be outdone by her mom, 13 year old Haley Heinrich was the top under 19 female finisher, completing the course in a time of 1:19:13 for 73rd place overall. Dawn was followed by fellow White Mountain Miler Mary Meehan-Bates of Intervale in a time of 1:07:23. In third place was Emma Barclay of Portland, ME in a time of 1:07:51.

The Hill Climb reached national prominence last year when it was one of the four qualifying races for the 2005 US Mountain Running Team. This year, the 2 lap 10K up and down mountain course was named one of the toughest short trail races in the U.S. by Trail Runner Magazine, most notably for its 20% grade uphill sections and the punishing downhills which follow along the ski trails of Mount Cranmore.

The race had 101 finishers coming from 12 states, including Florida, New Jersey, Arizona and California. Competitors ranged in ages from 7 to 74, including seven year old Alexander Sokol from San Jose, California, who ran one lap of the race. The race would not be possible without its sponsors, including Inov-8, Eastern Mountain Sports, Fuel Belt, Cranmore Mountain Resort and the White Mountain Milers.

The Cranmore Race concludes the "hilly" portion of the White Mountain Milers organized races after the Jackson 10K on June 3rd and the inaugural Loon Mountain Race on June 24th. The racing season for the Milers continues with the Saucony Summer Series at Whitaker Woods every Tuesday through August and then the Milers Annual Half Marathon at the end of October. Complete information on Miler events can be found at www.whitemountainmilers.com. All of the races are fundraisers for the Milers' Gretchen B. Hatch Scholarship Fund, which to date has given out over $43,000 in college scholarships to local high school student-athletes.
Complete results and photos for the race can be found at www.whitemountainmilers.com/cranmorehillclimb.htm